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Holiday firm Thomas Cook is reportedly closing in on a loan deal, which could help secure its future.

Lenders including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are near to approving a refinancing that will extend the maturity on bank loans to 2015.

Thomas Cook is reportedly closing in on a loan deal, which could help secure its future. Credit: PA

The Sunday Times reports the consortium of 17 banks will extract a heavy price for the new loans by including the right to take 5% of the company's shares, as well as higher interest and a one-off fee.

Peterborough-based Thomas Cook, which has an annual turnover of £9 billion and 30,000 employees, was in crisis last autumn before banks stepped in with an emergency £200 million loan.

It followed a disastrous year of three profit warnings, the departure of its chief executive and an earlier £100 million bail-out from its banks.